


Best Bagels in the Galaxy

by Lefaym



Category: Doctor Who, White Collar
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-25
Updated: 2010-03-25
Packaged: 2017-10-08 07:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/74149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lefaym/pseuds/Lefaym
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal overhears a conversation in a diner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Best Bagels in the Galaxy

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to lionessvalenti for the beta!

Neal is about to bite into his bagel (lox and cream cheese—he's always been a fan of the classics) when he hears them come into the diner.

"Best bagels in the galaxy!" a man exclaims; Neal places his accent somewhere in the north of England.

"We have bagels in London you know, Doctor," says a woman.

"Not these bagels," the man—this Doctor—tells her. "Believe me, Rose, six months from now there'll be a line outside this place three hours long. And you'll be able to say you ate here when it was no more than a little hole in the wall."

Neal realizes they have a third person with them when they slip into the booth across the aisle.

"Six months, hey?" Number Three is American, and right now his good looking face is wearing a speculative smile that Neal knows very well.

"Don't even think about it, Jack," says the Doctor (it's a strange nickname, Neal thinks, but it suits him somehow).

"I wasn't going to—"

The Doctor raises his eyebrows, and that seems to be enough to stop Jack short. "I swear, sometimes I think I need to keep you on a leash."

The woman named Rose laughs and pushes a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "He'd probably enjoy that!"

Neal feels the sudden urge to scratch his left ankle. It's been bare for a year now, but sometimes he forgets.

"Oi! Don't you start too," the Doctor says.

Jack joins in with Rose's laughter. "At least you'd know where I was every second."

"Spare me," the Doctor says. "I'll just drop you off on some deserted planet instead."

Neal can tell that the Doctor is joking—even if it wasn't for the whole thing about a deserted planet, his tone is light—but something in Jack's smile tells Neal that he's worried. This isn't a man who wants to be left behind.

Neal remembers being afraid of that, after Peter had cut the anklet for the final time.

"Don't be mean," Rose chides the Doctor; Neal thinks she's picked up on Jack discomfort, because she gives his arm a squeeze. That makes Neal smile; it's exactly what El would do.

"So, what about these amazing bagels?" Changing the subject, too. This Rose is a smart one.

Neal finishes his own bagel as the three of them debate the merits of different fillings, and he's swallowing his last mouthful of tea when Rose and the Doctor make their way to the counter to place their order, leaving Jack to mind the booth.

As he stands, Neal looks across the aisle and catches Jack's eye. Jack grins at him, and Neal surprises himself by thinking that if he wasn't taken, he would definitely be interested.

"Captain Jack Harkness," says the man, proffering his right hand. Neal's had enough experiences with false identities that he can tell when someone's using one.

Neal shakes his hand. "Nick Halden," he says. He hasn't used that name in years, but it seems appropriate.

"So, Nick..." Jack trails off and smiles a bit wider.

For a moment, Neal feels himself drawn in, but he doesn't forget why he's doing this. "Look, I can't stay," he says. "But I just wanted to say..."

"Say what?" Jack looks up at him curiously.

Neal takes a deep breath, because even after everything, he's still not used to being honest with strangers. "Those people you're with—they seem good. Don't screw it up, okay?"

His words clearly catch Jack by surprise. Neal can see Jack's Adam's apple working as he swallows. Finally, he nods. "I won't," he says.

"It'll be worth it."

Neal can feel Jack's eyes on him as he turns and leaves the diner; he just hopes that Jack believed him. He hears the Doctor and Rose return to the booth as he steps outside; he can't make out their words, but he smiles anyway.

As he walks down the street, Neal sends a text to Mozzie, and tells him that he wants to buy a diner. He can already see the line stretching around the corner, and he thinks it'll make Peter and Elizabeth happy. It's a surprisingly legitimate endeavor, all things considered.

He's still smiling when he hails a cab and asks the driver to take him home to Brooklyn.


End file.
